Kyrgyz phonology
This article is about the phonology and phonetics of the Kyrgyz language. Vowels chart showing the stem vowel space of Kyrgyz. From .]] * Notes on vowel quality: ** Kyrgyz vowel space is different in affixes and stems. describes the former as more typical and more condensed. ** All rounded vowels are more back than their unrounded counterparts. ** In stem vowel space, the main difference between and is that the latter is more back. In affix vowel space, they can have the same backness, and differ by height. * appears only in borrowings from Persian and as a result of regressive assimilation. Normal vowel harmony does not apply to this vowel. Note that in most dialects, its status as a vowel distinct from is questionable. * are sometimes transcribed .For example by * The sequence of any vowel and the consonant is pronounced as a long vowel with falling pitch. * In colloquial speech, word-final vowels are dropped when the next word begins with a vowel. Consonants * are alveolar, whereas are dental. * are velar, whereas is palatal. ** are palatal , }} in words with front vowels, and velar , }} in words with back vowels. *** Word-initial is often voiced . *** In loanwords from Persian and Arabic, palatal , }} are always followed by front vowels, whereas velar are always followed by back vowels, regardless of the vowel harmony. *** Word-final and word-initial is voiced to when it is surrounded by vowels or the consonants . * occur only in foreign borrowings. * In colloquial speech: ** is lenited to after or between vowels. ** is deaffricated to before voiceless consonants. ** Intervocalic can be voiced to . ** Word-final is often devoiced to . The consonant phonemes have uvular realisations , , }} in back vowel contexts (before back vowels). In front-vowel environments, is fricativised to between continuants, and in back vowel environments both and fricativise to and . Additionally, the liquid is velarized in back vowel contexts. Other consonants have slightly different realisations in front- versus back-vowel contexts and when between continuants or not, but these are the clearest examples. Stress Recent loanwords often retain their original stress. Desonorisation and devoicing In Kyrgyz, suffixes beginning with show desonorisation of the to after consonants (including ), and devoicing to after voiceless consonants; e.g. the definite accusative suffix -NI patterns like this: кеме'ни' the boat, ай'ды' the month, тор'ду' the net, кол'ду' the hand, таң'ды' the dawn, көз'дү' the eye, баш'ты' the head. Suffixes beginning with also show desonorisation and devoicing, though only after consonants of equal or lower sonority than , e.g. the plural suffix -LAr patterns like this: кеме'лер' boats, ай'лар' months, тор'лор' nets, кол'дор' hands, таң'дар' dawns, көз'дөр' eyes, баш'тар' heads. Other -initial suffixes, such as -LA, a denominal verbal suffix, and -LUU, a denominal adjectival suffix, may surface either with or after ; e.g. тор'до'-/тор'ло'- to net/weave, түр'дүү'/түр'лүү' various. See Kyrgyz language#Case for more examples. References Bibliography * * * * * Further reading * * * Phonology Category:Language phonologies